Starting Over
by Mouzif
Summary: Sometimes, things don't end up how you thought they would. Sometimes, you have to start over and begin at square one. No matter how hard you try, no matter what you do, it will all just unravel in front of your eyes. Haruhi's cousin Nel was well aware of this. She'd lived it many times. Kyoya, however, was about to learn the hard way. KyoyaxOC Haruhix?
1. Chapter 1

**Starting Over**

**An Ouran High School Host Club Fanfiction**

**By Mouzif**

* * *

Sometimes, things don't end up how you thought they would. Sometimes, you have to start over and begin at square one. No matter how hard you try, no matter what you do, it will all just unravel in front of your eyes. Haruhi's cousin Nel was well aware of this. She'd lived it many times. Kyoya, however, was about to learn the hard way. KyoyaxOC Haruhix?

* * *

The clink of porcelain, the giggles and sighs as girls swooned, the words softly spoken by very handsome young men with the intention of making said girls knees weak. This was the typical daily soundtrack to the Ouran high school host club. This is why the guests continued to come, to be swept off their feet by false affection and hope that one day it would be genuine. One guest in particular sat in a corner in the back of the abandoned music room, watching the chaos unfold. Soon, she would make her move.  
And though she didn't know it, it was her sole choice of actions that would turn things completely upside down and change the course of the host club forever.

"But I thought you are the one who wanted her to have a female friend in the first place." Kyoya said pleasantly, obviously amused by his friends distress at the current matter at hand. After the incident with the filming of their movie, the self appointed manager Renge had moved her attentions and undying love from Kyoya to Haruhi and was currently trying to whisk her away. This was something the shadow king would in no way object, but Tamaki felt very different about things.

"Oh, yeah, female companion! Not a _girl friend_!" the blonde yelled in torment, for once wishing he wasn't such an upstanding gentleman and could savagely steal Haruhi away without a second thought. His daughter was being taken from him!

Just as Renge was about to slip through the door, Haruhi in tow, the unnoticed guest stood, a small grin on her face. Now was the time to make her move.

"Come on, Haruhi. Let's go play together!" Renge turned, expecting to see wide open space for her and her crush to go frolic and fall in love. What she got instead was a solid yet strangely soft barrier suddenly in her way. She stumbled backwards and would have fallen had it not been for Haruhi to steady her from behind.

"What in the..." she mumbled in shock and disbelief, finally looking to find what had stopped her. There was a white gleam of light on glass, accompanied by a small giggle, and in a display that put even the shadow king to shame, a pale, long fingered hand reached up and pushed the pair of black framed glasses back up the girls nose. Her eyes were still hidden by waving black hair and she smirked. "Well, so this is the famous host club I've heard so much about. Good to see my cousin is well taken care of." She finally raised her head, revealing gleaming black eyes that seemed friendly, but had a small gleam to them that may suggest otherwise. She smiled brightly, holding up a hand in a casual wave. "Name's Nicole. You can call me... Nel."

There was a short pause throughout the room.

Then another.

And another.

It was finally Haruhi that broke the silence. "Ni...cole?" when she finally put two and two together a huge smile broke her face and with a cry of glee she threw herself at the girl, who met her embrace with a laugh. Haruhi pulled back after the shiort but strong hug, staring in wonderment. "What are you doing in Japan? Why aren't you in Texas?"

Nel laughed a little, scratching the back of her head. "Yeah, about that..."

* * *

• After Closing Time •

It was all the hosts on one couch, Haruhi and Nel on another. The males stared at the pair of girls with a range of complete disinterest to such a strong gaze of concentration one might be afraid there was actually just something wrong with the person.

Nel leaned back against the plush couch with a sigh. "And, that's why I'm here."

Tamaki nodded, chin resting in the spot between his thumb and pointer finger. "I see. So your grandmother is bed ridden and you're the only one available to come and take care of her full time. That must be tough..." Suddenly, he crossed the barrier of the coffee table between the couches and was kneeling in front of the ebony haired girl, his hand held out and the other on his chest, his face the perfect picture of agony and understanding. "Your caring spirit is the most beautiful I've ever seen... My princess." He bowed his head, and at this point there were two assumptions as to what the next move would be. The boys assumed Nel to be like all other girls and fall for Tamaki's charm. Haruhi expected better of her cousin and was waiting for a rejection much like one she would have given herself.

Oh course, Nel did neither of these things. She reached out a single finger and hooked it into the collar of Tamaki's shirt, slowly pulling him towards her as she spoke. "Oh yes dear, I'm _very_ caring indeed. I love to help and make other people feel good..." At this point their noses were touching and Nel had a wicked gleam in her eye that frightened even the twins. "_Very_ good," she finished in a whisper, and watched as Tamaki turned red from the neck up.

Eventually she couldn't take it and collapsed onto the couch with her cousin, both holding their stomachs in uncontrollable laughter. Tamaki popped like a deflated balloon, and all the rest of the hosts looked mildly disturbed. Haruhi was the first to recover, wiping tears from her eyes. "Same old Nel. I can't believe you actually did that," she snickered. Nel took a deep breath and finally sat back up, tossing her black hair over her shoulder and adjusting her slightly off kilter glasses. "Well, after hearing about the famous host king I knew I _had_ to give him a taste of his own medicine." She glanced over to find Tamaki fully recovered but cowering behind the couch. She smirked and wiggled her fingers flirtatiously, earning her a glare. "No hard feelings?" She asked, still giggling.

Tamaki nearly growled, sinking further down behind the couch. "How is she even _related_ to Haruhi? She looked so innocent and turned out to be a total _monster_!"

The twins nodded in agreement. "Mm-_hm_!" They both stared suspiciously at the girl and said "Are you really Haruhi's cousin? And just where did you get that uniform?"

"Yeah, that's pretty shady," Kaoru said with a raise of his brow, crossing his arms over his chest. Hikaru performed the mirror version of his bothers actions. "Come to think of it, we never saw you come in. Just who exactly _are_ you?"

Haruhi rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by none other than the shadow king.

"Relax you two, I saw her come in myself. I knew she didn't go to school here, but she wasn't causing any trouble so I decided to leave her be and see how things panned out." He made a few quick marks in his black book.

Tamaki, Kaoru and Hikaru turned on the bespectacled male with a raging fire. "You knew about this from the beginning?" They all shouted in perfect unison.

Kyoya merely pushed his glasses up his nose. "Of course," he answered simply.

"But Kyo-chan! How did you know she didn't go here?" Honey asked, munching on a cookie. "She looks like any other student." Mori nodded his agreement.

Kyoya lifted his gaze, staring at the girl that had been watching them all calmly. Tamaki slid up beside his friend, also staring at the girl as one might study a difficult puzzle. "I'd like to know that as well Kyoya. She _does_ appear to be like any other student here at Ouran, how were you able to tell?"

Indeed, Kyoya mused, Nel was dressed perfectly head to toe in Ouran's uniform, and appeared to be a model student. But he knew better. "Well my main clue was I had never seen her before. And I have a file on just about every student in this school, especially the females in our age group." He pursed his lips. "But it was actually the amount of makeup she's wearing."

Haruhi looked at her cousin. "Huh? But she's barely wearing any at all!"

"Exactly," Kyoya replied, snapping his black book closed. "The majority of our clients, in an attempt to appear more beautiful and desirable in front of us, tend to cake in on. Your cousin here keeps it natural, but still vey nice. None of the schools girls would ever think of such a thing."

Now all of the hosts had their full attention on Nel, which she had to admit unnerved her a little. She sunk back as if the couch could swallow her whole.

Tamaki narrowed his eyes. "She _does_ look quite sweet and innocent..." at the sudden sound of laughter he blinked and looked at the source of the noise, Haruhi.

"_Nel_, sweet and innocent? You've got a lot to learn sempai," she snickered. This brought the hosts attention back to the other girl, who merely shrugged and stood up, grabbing a fistful of yellow dress. She pulled it off with a flourish, revealing the actual outfit underneath.

There was general shock all around, with a few eye twitches. Dark mahogany colored hair settled on leather clad shoulders. The light coming from the windows gleamed off black, knee high heeled boots, leading up to dark blue skinny jean clad legs. She finished off the look with a simple white tank top underneath her black biker jacket that fit her like a glove. With a sigh Nel sat back down on the couch, crossing her legs. "Nice to finally be out of that awful thing. I don't know how the girls at this school can handle it, that dress is hideous."

The host club attempted to make a reply, but only succeeded in croaking weakly. Kyoya seemed to be the only one unaffected by the show and went back to his notes. Nel simply snickered behind her hand, always enjoying when a shock factor was introduced. "Sorry to surprise you boys like that." she finally broke a genuine smile, her eyes sparkling and much more approachable looking.

Tamaki was the first to stutter a response, though he still seemed a bit shaken. "Q-quite alright, but... Now I'm _really_ questioning if you're related to Haruhi."

"Now now Tamaki, just because their personal sense of style are polar opposites doesn't negate the fact that Haruhi and Nel look shockingly similar." Kyoya watched the girl with a steady gaze as she finger combed through the black wig she had been wearing previously. "Save for Nel's eyes of course, but if I had to guess I'd say that's because she's not completely Japanese."

This caught the girls attention, and she glanced up with a small smile. "You'd be right, Kyoya-san. My father is Caucasian. I was born in Japan but raised in Texas. Physically I'm a pretty even mix between my parents."

The rest of the hosts now realized the same fact Kyoya had to explain. Nel had the general almond eye shape of a Japanese girl, but she had a natural double lid. But other than that, she was nearly identical to Haruhi. The two could have been sisters more than cousins.

"Remarkable..." Tamaki muttered, staring at the two. He was the only one to notice how Nel gave a quick sideways glance to her cousin before sighing. "Man, I'm thirsty."

Haruhi instantly perked up. "Oh, let me go get you some water."

Nel shook her head. "You don't have to do that."

Haruhi was already walking away. "It's no trouble, just stay right here!" she exited the room, and suddenly the atmosphere changed dramatically.

The males turned to look at Nel, the only possible source of the sudden foreboding feeling. She sat dead center on the couch, the sun setting directly behind her head in the twenty foot tall window. She stared them all down with a cool look, her hands resting lightly in her lap. "Well now that I've gotten rid of her for a short moment, there's something I need to explain to you gentleman. Haruhi is like a little sister to me. I'd do damn near anything for the girl. Now, caring as he is, her father isn't exactly the best for listening when it comes to the subject of your host club. He'd rather believe you're all out to deflower his precious daughter than be her friend. So, she comes to me instead."

"Meaning," Kyoya chimed in, "anything Haruhi knows about us-"

"I also know," Nel finished with a small grin. "So far, I see nothing bad about her hanging out with you boys, and I'm quite happy she's found some friends at school. But..." she looked each host dead in the eye in turn, leaving Tamaki for last. "If I happen to find some aspect of this is going to harm her, I'll remove her from this club and you'll have nothing to say about it."

"Thats all good and well," Kyoya popped in again, adjusting his glasses just so for his trademark flash of light across the lenses, "but you seem to be forgetting about the debt Haruhi owes us. Shes not exactly here of her own free will."

Nel met Kyoya with a flash of her own, but it was deep in the back of her gaze, and promised trouble. "I'm well aware of that, Kyoya-san. Though my family is a bit better off than Haruhi's, we don't have that kind of money to just throw away. My grandmother, on the other hand..." she shrugged, leaving it at that.

"As I said, I have nothing against any of you. Frankly, from what I've seen so far I actually like all of you. And Haruhi has seemed a bit more cheerful since she met all of you, albeit she's also a bit more stressed out. But just know I'll be keeping an eye on things."

Tamaki stood suddenly and bowed low, arms at his sides. "I promise you, miss. Your cousin shall come to no harm while under our care."

Nel stood as well, and held out her hand. "Good to know, Suoh. I'll hold you too that."

Tamaki grinned and shook her outstretched hand. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Haruhi chose that moment to return, a bottle of water in one hand and staring at the group like they all had just announced their pledge to join a nudist colony. "What did I just miss?"

Nel nearly tackled the girl to the ground, hugging her around her neck. "Nothing at all little cousin." she said brightly. "Ohhh thanks for the water, you're the best!" she took the bottle from her and drank half it's contents in record time, all the while the twins were staring at the two curiously.

"Ya know," they both began, "Nel keeps calling Haruhi 'little' but even with those four inch heels on she's barely taller than her."

Haruhi 'huh'ed and looked up at the two identical boys. "She calls me little because of age, not size."

Hikaru stroke a pose of defiant disbelief. "I don't buy it, no way she's older than me."

Nel rolled her eyes. "I'll have you know I'm nearly twenty, dear sir."

This caused jaws to drop all around. "You mean to tell me you're the oldest person in his room?" Tamaki cried.

Nel slid up next to the king and walked her fingers up his chest. "What wrong, sweetheart? You don't have a thing for older woman?" she winked. "After all, I never actually admitted I was a high school student, now did I?"

"Shes got a point boss," Kaoru grinned, leaning against his brother. The only reply Tamaki gave them was to promptly turn to stone and crumble onto the floor.

As the host club congratulated Nel for being the first to fluster their king beyond speech, Haruhi watched on with a smile, unable to help thinking that things from now on would be a lot more interesting around the host club.

* * *

Kyoya finally closed his laptop, the days work done, and stood up from his desk, just looking forward to going to bed. He paused when he heard a familiar buzzing sound, and a quick glance at his bedside table told him yes, someone was indeed calling him. But seeing as it was nearly three in the morning, he had no idea who it might be. He silently padded over and picked up the vibrating device. It wasn't a number he recognized, but he flipped open the phone away, curious as to who was on the other end.

"Hello?"

"Kyoya-san. It's Nel."

Kyoya held the phone away from his ear for a moment, staring at it in mild shock. Well first off, how in the hell did she get his number, and second why was she calling him so late? He voiced these questions to her, and listened as she gave a small laugh.

"I have my sources. And I couldn't sleep, and had a feeling you were a night owl as well and decided to take a chance." She sounded amused. "But, I do have a reason for calling."

"Oh? And what might that be?" Kyoya sat down on the edge of his bed.

"I wanted to thank you," she said quietly. Kyoya could have sworn he heard soft guitar strumming in the background, but his curiosity was quickly over shadowed by what the girl had said.

"Thank me? What for?"

"For keeping up with uncle Ranka. He worries so much about Haruhi, and we both really appreciate the updates from you on how she's doing."

"Ah, so that's how you got my number," Kyoya said, picking up a pencil off the bedside table and twirling it between his fingers.

He was met with a giggle from the other line. "Smart man. Yeah, I got it from Ranka. I just wanted to personally give my thanks for keeping an eye on her."

Kyoya heard another noise and momentarily wondered where she was and what she was doing. "No thanks needed. I'm merely doing my job."

"Well thank you regardless. It's good to know there's even more pairs of eyes making sure she doesn't get into trouble." she sighed. "Well I suppose I'll let you go now. Goodnight, Kyoya-san."

"Kyoya."

"Huh?"

"Just call me Kyoya."

He could have sworn he heard the small smile in her voice. "Goodnight, Kyoya."

He gave he smallest of grins. "Goodnight, Nel."

As he finally drifted off to sleep, Kyoya had to wonder what this new addition would mean for the host club.

Well, he mostly wondered what kind of profit would be made from it. But he'd think more about that tomorrow.

* * *

Oh come on, you didn't honestly believe that Kyoya was being nice just to be nice, did you? Silly people.

Review if you like and I'll type up some more, this was more of just an intro to see if people would be okay with the idea.


	2. Chapter 2

_Huge thank you to anyone who reviewed, I really appreciate it. ^_^  
__This chapter is considerably longer than the last so I hope you enjoy it!_

* * *

"Oh wow, so the kid just wanted to get his classmates attention?" Nel shoved a few coins in the slot and stared at the buttons before her, thinking she probably should have made a choice before she put her money in.

"Yeah," her cousin replied, "so Tamaki-senpai gave him piano lessens for a while, and after he had learned the song well enough we left a note for the girl to come to the host club."

Nel raised a brow as she punched a button with her finger and listened to the mechanical noises as her bottle of Coke dropped to the opening at the bottom of the vending machine. "So how'd it go?"

Haruhi's voice softened, and Nel could just see the small, gentle smile on her face. "It went great. Tamaki-senpai did amazing teaching that little boy."

Though Nel had the very strong urge to tease and accuse Haruhi of having a thing for her 'king' she resisted. She shifted the phone between her cheek and shoulder while she twisted the cap halfway, waiting until the hissing sound from the carbonation went away before opening it fully. "Well between that and the twins faking a fight just to be able to see your apartment, sounds like you've been pretty busy."

Haruhi made a small noise of agreement. "What's wrong, Nel?"

Nel took a swig, her eyes watering a little at the tingling burn from the drink. "Whatcha talking about?"

"I heard that bottle. You never drink soda unless you're _really_ stressed out. What's wrong?"

Nel sighed, sinking into a chair around one of the many tables in the hospital cafeteria. "The doctors are... Slightly less optimistic that the surgery will do any good for her condition. But they're still gonna try."

The other end was quiet for so long Nel almost checked to see if the call had been dropped. "I'm sorry." Haruhi mumbled softly. Nel knew she was thinking of her own mother.

"It's alright, little cuz. No worries. Everything's gonna be fine."

* * *

Kyoya punched a few more numbers into the calculator, and had to admit he wasn't entirely satisfied with the results. The club had been lacking a bit lately on the budget and he didn't like it. Sure, they were no where near the poor house but he always felt better with a large cushion to work with.

He heard the door open and looked up over his glasses, letting out a small sigh before getting up and fixing a smile on his face to go greet the guests. He knew these three, they always requested Haruhi. He gave a quick, bright hello and sent them on their way over to their preferred host before turning on his heel to get back to work. But he stopped, glancing curiously to the side, sure he saw something out of the corner of his eye.

There, in the very farthest corner of the room sat Nel, sitting by herself at a table and looking to be completely absorbed in a thick paperback. He watched her for a couple short moments, wondering how the hell she had gotten in without anyones notice _again_, when she suddenly looked up, and caught his gaze instantly. She blinked, apparently not sure of what she was seeing, but recovered quickly and raised a hand, waving him over with a smile.

Kyoya weighed his options within a few seconds. Anyone else and he would have just shook his head and gestured to his laptop. He was a very busy man after all. But he knew he had to tread carefully around Nel, after she made it clear she would release Haruhi from her debt. One wrong move and their newest member would be lost to them forever. And despite the front he put up, Kyoya really did care for his fellow hosts. They were his friends. His only friends.

So, he'd play nice for now.

"Nel. I didn't see you come in." Kyoya said pleasantly once he was near.

Nel gave a small smile, and Kyoya noticed it was slightly crooked, one side pulling up higher than the other. "Yeah, I tend to do that. I couldn't tell you have many times I've accidentally scared people and snuck up on them because I never realize how quiet I really am. Here," she scooted a chair out with her foot, "have a seat. You look like you could use a break from that computer of yours."

Kyoya sat, but waved away her comment. "Thank you for the consideration, but it's really nothing to take care of the clubs financial side of things. In fact, I quite enjoy it."

Kyoya knew just by looking at the girl that she didn't buy his crap one bit. But, she was polite at least and nodded her head once while she set her book down after dog-earing the corner of the page she had been reading. She folded her legs up, wrapping her arms around them and resting her chin on her knee. She looked at Kyoya with an open expression, curiosity bright in her dark blue eyes.

Wait... _Blue_?

Kyoya frowned slightly. "Your eyes..." he could have sworn the last time she was here they were black.

Nel gave him a sharp look. "I'm a vampire," she said, as if she were pointing out the most obvious fact such as the sky was blue, or the grass was green or Mori-senpai was really, really tall.

There was a long moment where all Kyoya could do was gape, unable to think of anything to say.

Nel pressed her lips together before busting out with a laugh. "God, Kyoya, I was _kidding_. I was wearing contacts the last time I was here, to keep up with the disguise. So you finally get the see the real me today."

Kyoya nodded, still at a loss for words. The real Nel, huh? It wasn't too bad, he admitted, though nothing spectacular. Her real eyes were a mix between gray and blue, like a stormy sea, with a ring of dark royal blue around the edge of the iris. Her hair was basically the same as it was last time, dark brown with a maroon tint to it when she turned just so in the light. Kyoya could tell by the half inch of lighter brown at her scalp that she dyed it. It was about seven inches below her shoulders in length and was obviously thick and somewhat heavy and she didn't style it, leaving it slightly wavy and disheveled just so, occasionally pushing it back from her face and allowing it to fall where it may.

Nel, still left with the silence of his apparent state of shock, changed to the subject to that of which she assumed he'd be more comfortable with. "So Kyoya, exactly what are your daily duties to keep this place up and running smoothly?"

Kyoya seemed to snap out of it finally, mentally slapping himself for such inexcusable behavior, and gave her a watered down list of what he did. She listened with a curious expression, like she was genuinely interested in what he was saying. Kyoya found that hard to believe. There was no way a girl like Nel would honestly give a damn about the daily accounting, number punching, online account managing and various other mundane jobs Kyoya had to take care of constantly. But she was faking it flawlessly, he had to admit. She nodded here and there, occasionally asking a question to pull a bit more information out of her, and soon enough Kyoya found himself delving into the situation more fully. It was the first time anyone had shown any interest, real or otherwise, in what he did for the club. It was almost... _Nice_ to finally to put it all out there, for someone else to acknowledge all of his hard work.

Kyoya hadn't realized how long they had been speaking, the subject having changed many times by then, until Tamaki came over and placed a hand on his shoulder, interrupting him mid-sentence. Kyoya turned to find his best friend close to tears and he sighed, knowing by heart what was sure to come next.

"_MOMMAAAAAA_! Haruhi won't play dress up with Daddyyyy!" He was sobbing rivers down his face by now, holding up a pink, frilly empire waist dress. Kyoya sighed deeply. "Well you can't exactly force her, Tamaki. She's a big girl, she can do what she wants." That last part was said with a grin, and Tamaki suddenly changed moods, pointing an accusing finger in Kyoya's face.

"How _dare_ you Kyoya! My little girl is not _grown_! She still needs the loving care and support of her _FATHER_!"

Nel simply chose to turn away from the racket, quietly going back to her book, her knees still hugged to her chest. She seemed quite at ease even with all the noise, almost like she didn't even notice it. It wasn't until Haruhi took a seat next to her that she even looked up, and her face instantly transformed into the warm smile a mother might give her child.

"Any news yet?" Haruhi asked quietly, and Nel marked her page, knowing she'd have to give this her full attention.

"No, but the surgery is about," she pulled out her phone and glanced at the screen, "barely halfway through. I was going to just stay in the waiting room all day but a friend of hers showed up and nearly kicked me out of the hospital." She shrugged. "So, the only place I could think of to come was here."

Haruhi smiled gently. "Well, I'm glad you did. You look like you needed the break." Haruhi couldn't help but notice the dark circles under her cousins eyes and the pale tone to her skin. She was spending too many nights in restless fits, she just knew it. Nel always worried about others first. And she knew how close Nel was to her grandmother, so surely this was taking it's toll on her.

While they spoke Tamaki had calmed from his fit and was berating Kyoya for ignoring the guests. Nel turned her head as far back as she could, seeing as they were behind her, and gave a shy smile. "My apologies Tamaki-kun. I kept Kyoya far too long." she looked at the dark haired boy in question. "I'm sure you have a lot of work to attend to still, Kyoya."

Kyoya merely stood, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Yes, I believe I do," he said quietly, and went back to his desk by the door, a silly idea forming in his mind. It wasn't often Kyoya liked to change his plans at the last second, but this time it seemed only appropriate. He was always up for an interesting twist to things, wasn't he?

* * *

"Target."

"Captured."

Haruhi found herself physically restrained and utterly confused. "Wait. What the..." she looked at both twins, hoping that somehow she would get an explanation, though she knew better.

The window to the limo in front of her rolled down to reveal none other than Tamaki, glancing up calmly over a pair of sunglasses. "Good work, now take her with you." The tinted glass went back up and jut like that Haruhi was even more anxious at her current situation. What the hell were they going to do to her _this_ time?

* * *

"Senpai, where are we, anyway?" Haruhi was beside herself in her annoyance and frustration knowing her chores for the day would never get done thanks to the crazy antics of the host club.

"This place is a brand new theme park that my family, the Otori group runs. It's called the Tropical Aqua Garden." Kyoya answered the skinny girl without missing a beat, noticing her sour mood but knowing it would all be worth it.

But of course, Haruhi could never just leave things be. "I don't understand. I thought the Otori group ran hospitals and that they're focused on medical business, Kyoya senpai."

Kyoya found this to be a sound inquiry nevertheless. "Yes, but my family likes to diversify and try different things. Besides, this place _could_ be classified as a healing facility. It's therapeutic. Think of all the people who were overworked and would just love a vacation in the south tropics. However, they may not be able to get the time off or they may not be able to afford it. Those people can now seek refuge here at this theme park, and reduce their stress levels. The Otori group's primary concern has always been for the good health and wealth being of general public."

"It sounds suspicious to me," was the typical, untrusting response from the heroine. "And what is _she_ doing here?" she demanded suddenly, pointing an accusing finger at her cousin, who was occupying herself with observing some of the tropical flowers on the edge of the grass.

"The park doesn't officially open until next month, but the host club was given a special advanced invitation," Kyoya explained. "I thought your cousin might enjoy it as well, seeing as how stressful it's been for her lately." Kyoya betrayed no emotion, and Haruhi narrowed her eyes, one hundred percent sure he was up to something.

"This is so relaxing," Tamaki sighed blissfully from a lounge chair. "We don't have to worry about keeping our guests entertained for once. It's truly like a holiday for handsome young soldiers. I guess that's what you call it."

In the quiet of the moment, a scoff could be heard. "Yes, Tamaki, because what you do is so _very_ comparable to military personel."

"Nel, be nice."

"Yeees, Haruhi. Whatever you say."

* * *

**Jungle Pool SOS!**

* * *

"You can't seriously tell me this isn't the most convenient thing you've ever encountered!" Nel held out a blue bottle to Tamaki, waving it around madly and using a tone like she was preaching to the church. "I mean _come on_! You don't even have to _rub it in_."

Haruhi turned away from her cousin trying to explain to Tamaki the wonders of spray-on sunscreen when the twins approached her, asking about the yellow pull-over she was wearing. She explained to them what has transpired between her and Tamaki and, overhearing the story, Nel gave Tamaki a blank look.

"Freak."

His jaw dropped to the ground, cracking the concrete, and Nel simply walked away, taking her beloved sunscreen with her. He didn't deserve it's magic. She leaned back against the table Kyoya was sitting at and the shadow king glanced up at the girl over his glasses, watching her as she pulled all of her hair back into a loose ponytail. A few pieces fell down around her temples and forehead, giving her an artfully and attractive disheveled look. Kyoya had come to realize this was entirely on purpose. Nel had completely perfected the art of looking good while simultaneously looking like she didn't try one bit and probably didn't even care.

She sighed, placing her palms behind her on the table and leaning her weight into them. She watched the group in front of her bicker and whatnot before opening her mouth, being careful to speak with a volume so only Kyoya could hear her. "So, how long do you think he'll be completely oblivious to his feelings?" She said it with such sure resolve Kyoya didn't even bother trying to convince her otherwise of her suspicions.

"Who knows? Tamaki's an odd character. But, if he ever does..." Kyoya shifted his gaze from the girl beside him to the four people he called his friends, "would you approve of such a thing? Haruhi seems to take your opinion of things very highly, I'm sure if you were against it it may sway her in some way as to her decision to reciprocate or not."

Nel shrugged. "I can't say. I haven't seen enough of his true character and behavior to make a real opinion of whether or not he'd be good for her." She sighed, a sudden slump lowering her shoulders like a physical weight was pushing them down and making her suddenly five years older and much more tired and weary. "To be honest, I'm quite wary of the blue blood community in general, not just how it may personally affect Haruhi, though that _is_ a constant worry in my mind."

Kyoya, still aware he had to play his cards right to keep himself on Nel's good side, smiled a little playfully. "Oh? And am _I_ included in that group?" While he asked this Nel had been in the process of removing her loose shirt and blue jean shorts, revealing the dark blue bikini underneath. It was standard style, tied at the sides of the bottoms and of course behind the back and neck. She had double knotted them all and left them hanging loosely around her, choosing to not bother with making any cute bows out of the strings or something like that. The only distictive part about the outfit was the small white silhouette of an anchor on the bottoms, right below her left hip bone.

As she folded her clothes and placed them carefully on the table she gave him a sharp, mischievous smile. "You _especially_, Mr. Otori."

Before Kyoya could ask her to elaborate on this the sudden volume of the activities of their forgotten companions drew their attention.

"Because it's cosplay, I guess." Tamaki said, like it was a question. Obviously they were stepping into this conversation a little too late.

Kaoru jabbed a finger in Nel's direction. "Then how is it okay for _Nel_ to wear _that_?"

A sudden dark energy crackled around the girl as her eyes narrowed the slightest bit. "Because I'm a ***censored* **grown ass woman and I'll do whatever the ***censored* **I please."**  
**

The twins suddenly lunged away from the ever growing shadow emanating from the brunette. "Good enough for us!"

Renge brought to attention back to the matter at hand (Nel failed to see the importance in discovering Honey was actually much smarter than he seemed and was only ensuring his place as the most adorable freaking thing ever) and Nel chose the moment to slip away to the bathroom to wash her hands and remove her contacts. She took a few moments longer than she needed, enjoying small bit of silence in the starkly clean bathroom, before venturing back out into the bright sun.

And of course the second she stepped foot outside the small building she was hit right in the cheek by a stream of water, and slowly turned her now soaked head towards the source of the attack, and upon finding the Three Idiots as she lovely deemed them, pulled a massive water gun out of seemingly no where. She advanced upon the males with murderous intent, flames trailing behind her. "Oh, it is _so_ on! Just _try_ and hit me again, pansy boys!"

Somewhere along the battle, it had turned into all against Tamaki, and under the assault of three different attacks he proved to be a complete failure, slipping on a banana peel and flailing right into some of the tribal decoration that was scattered around the gardens that edged the pools.

As the ominous lights and sounds began, Nel turned traitor and turned on her heel, waving her arm around in Tamaki's direction. "_Oooooh_... KYOYA! Tamaki broke the freaky ass totem thing!"

"No I didn't!" Tamaki shouted in his defense, his head whipping between Nel and Kyoya.

"Broke the..." Kyoya looked over in confusion, and saw the same time as everyone else, too late, the wave that was rushing down the current pool, heading straight for Honey. They could all only watch helplessly as it swept him away.

Tamaki jumped to action as usual, stroking in a pose and pointing in a seemingly random direction. "Gentlemen, we're going after Honey senpai! That pool looks like the quickest way! Charge!"

"Wait! I wouldn't go..." Kyoya attempted to warn them, just at the same time Nel announced "Yeah, so not going. Baaad idea."

"There are alligators in there!" They all cried as they ran back.

"Told ya so."

Tamaki of course didn't appear phased. "Okay, so we can't choose that pool!" He pointed in a different direction. "Then let's try this way next!"

"Also a bad idea."

"They're here, too!"

"Told ya so. Again."

"And here!"

"Wow, you guys just aren't having any luck with this, are you?"

"What's with all the alligators?" Haruhi asked, breathing hard.

"Beats me," Tamaki panted.

"Those alligators belong to park's tropical animal exhibit," Kyoya explained, walking up to them with Nel on his heels. "I guess it _is_kinda dangerous to let them run wild. Though, the cause of our present situation seems to be the location of the switch for the current pool. I'll have to have a little chat with our designers." He snapped a smaller version of his black folder shut and smiled. "Thanks a lot, you guys. I got some great data today."

"You _what_!" Was the enraged cry of the rest of the hosts. Nel merely snickered quietly to herself. This was starting out to be a pretty fun day.

* * *

They eventually made their way to a map and Kyoya explained the basics of the trip they'd need to make to find Honey.

Looks like there are a lot of undeveloped areas," Haruhi pointed out, worry creeping into her voice. "Any idea what might be lurking in those parts of the jungle?"

"Since they're still being developed, I'm afraid I don't know."

"Whatever there's out there, it could be even more dangerous..." Hikaru began.

"...than alligators." Kaoru finished, the both of them looking just as hesitant about the hike.

Nel tossed in her own take on things. "If we run into any sort of large feline I _swear_ I'm making someone carry me the rest of the way. And I have half a mind to appoint Ootori the task as it is officially his fault we're in this mess."

Kyoya stayed calm under the accusation. "And how is it _my_ fault?"

"Because, it's _your_ crazy ass family's resort and _you_ used us as unwilling test subjects to work out life threatening kinks in the systems! Therefor, I deem it your fault."

Even Kyoya Ootori couldn't argue her point.

"All right!" Tamaki took charge, and Nel had to admit, the guy could get a crowds attention pretty quick. "Now, this is a mission of survival! I know we can make it through the treacherous jungle in one piece. It is our sworn duty to save Honey senpai!"

* * *

As they made their way through the wilderness Nel found her mind wandering, unable to pay much attention to the conversation, even nearly stepping on Mori when he tripped from sheer worry about Honey. Nel felt for the guy. She knew was it was like to worry about someone so much it threw you entirely off balance (figuratively and literally).

Even though she knew it was mainly for personal gain, Nel was thankful for Kyoya extending an invitation to her to come here with them. It really was a nice break from all the doctor visits, endless hours in the surgery waiting room, measuring out handfuls of pills and placing them in the correct slots of the plastic blue pill organizer, first by day of week and then down to time of day. It was exhausting work, physically, mentally, and most of all emotionally. She wasn't sure how much longer she could take when Kyoya sent her a text, asking her if she wanted to join the host club on a little trip. So all things considered, this was very well earn recharger for her.

After the rain started and they sought the shelter of the conveniently placed pavilion, Nel found herself still unable to break free from her thoughts. She sat by herself on the steps, her feet slowly becoming wet as they were splashed by the drops of rain that fell from the edge of the roof above her. She sighed, trying her best to pull her mind back to the present.

"...He's a lot tougher than you might think he is, and if he gets hungry, the trees are full of bananas." Nel nodded her head in silent agreement with her cousin, though no one saw it.

"Bananas?" The twins deadpanned.

"Bananas are a valuable source of potassium," Nel commented quietly, and missed the strange looks shot her way as everyone realized that was the first thing out of her mouth in a while.

* * *

By the time Nel finally broke free of her self imposed pondering coma, the twins were loudly accusing Tamaki of being a pervert and Kyoya was going about his announcements like he was utterly sure he had their full attention.

"My family's private police force is going to send in a search and rescue team and help us. They're better equipped to find Honey senpai than we are. So let's just go back to the gate and wait there." He paused, and looked around curiously. "Hey, where are Mori and Haruhi?"

They all stopped dead and looked around as well, discovering that Haruhi and Mori were indeed missing.

Now it was Nel's turn to strike a pose of unquestionable leadership. "Well, come on boys, we don't have all day!" By the time she was finished speaking she was already halfway across the clearing, heading blindly into the woods.

"_Hey_!" The twins cried. "Wait for us!"

* * *

After an uneventful fifteen minutes of walking, Nel started to loose some of her previous adrenaline at the prospect of recusing Haruhi as well as Honey, and found herself wondering out loud if even their own group could possibly get their way out of this damned jungle alive.

Kyoya almost scoffed. "Of course we will. My family's team of police personel will get us all together in no time and everything will be fine."

He said it with such sure conviction that Nel and the Three Idiots all nodded their heads, making no move to question him.

Nel stopped in the middle of the path suddenly, her eyes narrowed. "Did anyone else hear that?"

"Hear what?" Tamaki asked, looking at her as if she might be insane.

There was a faint serious of grunts and thumps in the distance. "That!" She cried, pointing in the direction of the noises.

"Something's over there!" Kaoru agreed, and they all went off on a sprint.

When they broke through the underbrush and spilled into the clearing the battle was long done with, the ground littered with twitching bodies, and Tamaki found himself unceremoniously shoved out of the way by Nel on her way to Haruhi, crushing her cousin in a tight hug as she babbled on for a short time about never going off on her own and not taking candy from strangers and always pulling back the shower curtain to check for axe murders before going to the bathroom.

Haruhi carefully extracted herself from her cousins embrace just in time to hear the twins commentary on the results of the fight.

"What do you mean he was holding back?" she asked, half wondering in the safety of her own mind if she really wanted to know.

"So then..." Kaoru started, and Hikaru flawlessly picked it back up, "You don't know about senpai?The Haninozukas are famous for their martial arts. Not only they've helped train the police and SDF forces but they've also worked with several overseas militaries."

"Honey senpai in particular has been called the dreadnaught of the Haninozuka family," Kyoya added on, "By the time he was in middle school, he'd become the national champion in both karate and judo."

"Mori senpai's no slouch either. He won the national championship in kendo when he was just in middle school." Even Tamaki had some input on the matter and both Haruhi and Nel found themselves completely speechless. Mori, they could understand... But _Honey_? If Haruhi hadn't just seen it with her won eyes she wouldn't have believed it.

They all watched as the men who had previously attacked them bowed and apologized. Nel found the whole scene the last loony cherry on the top of her crazy ass sundae of a weekend. If this sort of thing happened with any frequency around these boys, Nel could certainly understand her cousins sudden high stress levels.

"Takashi! You did an amazing job protecting Haru-chan." Honey patted his cousin on the head, much like Nel did to Haruhi when they were younger. "I bet you were pretty lonely without me around, huh?"

"I don't know if I'd say that." Mori said in his deep, stoic voice. Nel smiled gently at the two and, unable to help herself, wrapped her arms tightly around the much taller boys neck in a quick hug, much to everyones complete shock.

"I'm with Honey," she told him with a bright smile. "Thank's for keeping an eye on Haruhi. You did great."

He only smiled a little in response, but Nel knew it was enough.

* * *

The day had come to an end, and as they walked back to the entrance of the resort, talks of the beach surfaced.

"You idiots, Haruhi's not interested in anything like that," Tamaki announced, and Nel just smiled, holding her tongue for once.

"Actually, I might like to go to the beach," Haruhi said, a dreamy look on her face. "I may not be into this silly water park, but I like the ocean. It would be nice to go to the beach. And it's so pretty."

Nel took the arm that wasn't carrying her bag full of her clothes and towel and other items and swung it around Haruhi's shoulders. She smiled at the slightly taller girl (god, she was short, wasn't she?) and said softly, "Yeah, that _would_ be nice, huh?"

And just like that, the plans were set.

Nel took a moment to wonder what else may happen on their next trip. She had to admit, she was looking forward to it.

* * *

_To be continued..._

* * *

Well, there's chapter two! I hope you enjoyed it as much as the last. ^_^ I apologize for any mistakes in grammar or spelling, I just finished typing the bulk of this at 3 in the morning and the rest was done on a very old and creaky iPhone 3G retired to an iPod. So there may be a few slip-ups on my part, though I did my best to catch them all.  
I'm also sorry if there's anything wrong with the dialog taken from the anime. I didn't feel like re-watching the episode again so I just found a written script of it online and it may be incorrect in a few spots as I've noticed. So if you notice any mistakes at all feel free to point them out.

I feel like so far my plan of following the canon story line with my own bits added and some things taken away is going pretty well. I'm excited for the next chapter, it's all original content and introduces the plot within the canon plot and opens up the door for Nel and Kyoya to start really getting to know one another.

Until next time!


	3. Chapter 3

_Huzzah, chapter three! Sorry it took me a while to get it up, I've been busy.  
__And thanks again to all who reviewed! ^_^_

* * *

It had started to become a pretty easy and simple routine for Nel, one that she was endlessly grateful for. It definitely kept her mind off things when she needed it. Every Tuesday and Thursday, during her grandmother's physical therapy sessions and late lunches with her closest friends, Nel would sneak off once she knew she was safe and under good care and make her way to Ouran Academy. The staff that permitted visitors to the premises had become pretty well aquatinted with her and even an older man by the name of Chizuru had picked up on her love of books and had somehow managed to get her a card to the library so she could borrow a few to keep her even more occupied in those long hours at the doctors offices and hospitals. Overall, things were looking up pretty well.

It was on a fairly calm Thursday afternoon that Nel found herself browsing the main library of Ouran, looking for a few specific titles. She found one out of the three, and had a hunch she could hunt down the other two in the other libraries scattered around the school, but she was getting tired and just wanted to see her cousin and the rest of the hosts. Nel had grown quite fond of the group of boys, and she let a small smile pick at her lips as she scaled the stairs to the south wing, thinking of them all. She really had nothing to worry about when it came to their competence about taking care of Haruhi, but just as a safety net she continued to hold the threat of abolishing her debt above their heads. Just to be safe.

She pushed open the grand doors to the third music room and realized she stepped in during the hosts busiest hour. She didn't want to disrupt any activities that may be going on so she kept to the walls, and made her way around the crowd of fawning girls to her favorite table in the back corner, right next to a large window. She loved the natural lighting and the view over the courtyard that was always blooming with some sort of flower or another. (Though she had more than once questioned the genetic makeup of those flowers as she knew for a fact wisteria did _not_ bloom that long.)

She nearly collapsed into the plush chair, overtaken by a sudden wave of exhaustion. She knew the cause, but told herself to fight through it, and it would go away with time. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths, trying to ignore the sound of blood rushing through her ears. She could get through this, she could be strong and just ignore the adverse affects of-

"Nel."

The brunette knew before opening her eyes who had spoken. There wasn't anyone else she knew with such a deep, calm voice. She looked up to find Mori, staring down at her with his usual blank gaze and holding out a fairly large mug of something. Nel took it hesitantly, wondering what it could be, and upon seeing the fragrant amber liquid broke out in a huge grin, one that Mori returned in his own miniscule way.

"Aw, thank you, Mori-kun. This is just what I needed." she said as happily as she could manage in her current state. She thought back to last week when she had given them all a thorough talking to about the horrible lack of apple juice in the fridge where they kept the chilled drinks and snacks. It appeared they took her advice and stocked up.

Mori nodded, and in an usual display of concern said, "You look tired."

Nel was busy sucking down the contents of the cup, but manage to pull herself away to wave a hand dismissively and say, "I'm fine, I just didn't get much sleep last night. My grandmother got pulled in for another surgery today." She glanced around, noticing Honey was entertaining Mori's usual guests on his own and looked up at the boy and gave him a friendly wink. "You should be getting back to your guests. No need to worry about me."

Mori, knowing she was right and never being one to argue, simply nodded and went back to his cousin.

A small group had been watching the exchange the entire time, and seeing the show was over, the love struck girls sighed and turned back to Tamaki and Kyoya, who they had stopped and forced to watch the show with them.

"I've _never_ seen Mori-senpai behave like that," one of them said in wonder. Her friend agreed, and looked up at Kyoya with wide eyes. "Kyoya-senpai, who _is_ that girl?"

"Haruhi's cousin," he explained shortly, not wanting to delve into things too much unless Nel didn't want anything being spread about her. "She stops by a couple days a week while her grandmother does errands, to keep an eye on Haruhi and take a short break."

One of the more... _outspoken_ guests Tamaki had to deal with huffed and crossed her arms. "Well, she's imposing in my opinion, and is honestly a little creepy, how she just sits there and never speaks to anyone. And her _clothes_..." She shuddered, like it was a personal offense.

"Now now, princess, we gladly meet the needs of Haruhi's most beloved cousin, and Nel simply has her own personal style. I quite admire her for staying true to herself." Though Tamaki had to admit, Nel definitely didn't go out of her way to impress anyone at Ouran. Today she was wearing a variation of her usual outfit; black zip-up hoodie with the sleeves pushed to her elbows, black tanktop, dark blue skinny jeans and cream colored Toms that had seen better days. She obviously dressed for comfort.

Overhearing the conversation, the twins switched their focus to the girl sitting alone in the corner of the room. "She sure does spend a lot of time here," Hikaru observed.

"She doesn't look to be in the best shape today either," Kaoru added, stepping up beside his brother and following his gaze.

They turned to their guests and gave them dazzling smiles, saying, "Excuse us for a moment, ladies."

They of course were more than happy to oblige and the twins made their way over to the girl, not even sparing a greeting before announcing quite loudly, "You look awful today, Nel."

Nel didn't miss a beat, not even looking up from her phone as she said with a bored tone, "Thank you boys, right back attcha."

There were cries heard all around the room, and a near complete uproar an the injustice of such an uncalled for insult began. Haruhi, sensing danger, quickly made her way over and opened her mouth to put the fire out before it could begin but stopped whens she caught eye of her cousin.

"Whoa... Nel, are you alright? I don't mean to sound rude, but those two are right, you don't look so good."

Nel gave an exasperated sigh, pressing the pad of her thumb hard against her temple and rubbed, looking like she was about to pass out any moment. "I'm _fine_, Haruhi." It was the first time any of the hosts had seen Nel express any sort of genuine anger and they all glanced at one another apprehensively.

"Seriously Nel, I think you should go see the nurse." Haruhi took a step towards her cousin, showing no signs of letting up any time soon. Nel stood up suddenly, and hoped no one noticed how she had to grip the edge of the table to keep herself from toppling over. "There's no need for that. I'll just go home, then." She started to walk swiftly away, ignoring the cries of her cousin to stop, and Nel soon found herself regretting getting up so quickly as what little blood she had left in her system rushed to her head.

Her vision blurred around the edges and she mumbled something about needing to call Raizo before she stumbled forward, her hip slamming into something cold and hard before it gave out from under her and she fell to the floor, watching the stars shoot across her vision before everything went black.

* * *

"She moved!"

Nel was vaguely aware of voices, many voices around her saying things in hushed, worried tones. The only one she could pick out for certain was Haruhi's and she forced her mouth to work, seeing as her eyes and limbs were being uncooperative.

"Haru..." she mumbled, still feeling impossibly weak and lightheaded and just wanting nothing more than to sleep for hours.

"Come on Nel, open your eyes."

She knew Haruhi was worried. She could hear it in her voice. She knew, but she just couldn't bring herself to care. She was just so tired...

"Nel!"

This time the cry was accompanied by someone shaking her shoulders, but still Nel was unable to do as asked.

"Nicole Hoshiko Mason, wake _up_!"

Now this one caught her attention, and Nel moaned as she moved her head a bit, trying to bring herself back to a conscious state of mind. "No usin' my trouble name," she mumbled, finally cracking her eyes open. "S'not fair..."

When her eyes adjusted to the light she found herself laying on a couch, staring up into the handsome faces of the host club. The rest of the room was empty, and she assumed they closed the place down for the day after all the excitement. With a grunt she pulled herself up some, leaning back on her elbows. "Ugh, why does my head hurt so bad?"

Haruhi shot her a look, obviously trying to look more angry than worried and failing miserably. "Because it had a direct hit with the floor, _that's_ why."

Nel reached up and touched the spot with the worst pain and winced once she felt how big the bump was. "Oh," was her only reply.

"Shall I go ahead and call an ambulence?" Kyoya asked calmly, phone at the ready. Nel held up a hand, trying to pushing herself fully upright. "No! No, I'm fine it's just..."

"Just what?" The twins asked sharply.

Nel sighed, knowing she'd have to fess up now. Taking the heat from telling them the truth was a much better option than taking a trip to the emergency room. "Like I told Mori, my grandmother was pulled for emergency surgery today, but their supply of her blood type was low, and a shipment wasn't going to come in for a while. But they desperately needed it, and I happen to be an exact match. So..." She finally managed to sit up and pulled her sleeve up higher, showing them the small red dot on the inside of her elbow. She shrugged, letting them connect the dots.

Kyoya lowered his head just so, letting a glare provide him some cover as he asked his next question. "Exactly how much blood did they take from you, Nel?"

This was the exact question she was hoping wouldn't be asked. And guessing by Kyoya's cold, still tone she knew exactly what he was getting at. As the son of the owner of a major medical company it went without question that Kyoya would have a much more extensive knowledge than the average person on things concerning the health of the human body. Nel wished in the safety of her head that she could just sink into the fabric of the couch and disappear. But, she knew there was no getting around it now and just took a deep breath, waiting for his reaction as she said, "Two and one third pints."

"What."

Nel decided in that moment Kyoya's calm, quiet tone was much worse than anything that could be shouted at her. She sighed and, realized she was being a coward, looked him in the eye. "You heard what I said," she replied shortly, sounding tired. She just wanted to go back to sleep.

"Nel, do you understand that for any normal adult, that amount of blood loss could potentially be fatal?" She cringed away from him slightly, and his voice that was slowly creeping into anger. "That's not even taking into consideration your size, which is much smaller than average and could barely hold seven pints at maximum. So you mind telling me what kind of _idiot_ doctor gave the okay to nearly _kill_ you?" Nel started to stand and get prepared to go head to head with the boy that was far out of line to be speaking to her like this, but she was silenced as Kyoya took a step towards her and fixed her with a gaze that was cold as ice and appropriately froze her on the spot. "How could they even let you out of that hospital in the first place? If you had exerted any more effort than you just did you could have died right in front of us."

The other teenagers around her stared at the dark haired male in shock. Kyoya _never_ reacted like that. But then again, they had never experienced anything quite like this either, and especially not with anyone with a position in the dynamic that Nel had. It was a very unfamiliar, frightening situation altogether and no one knew quite what to say.

Haruhi turned and looked at her cousin with worry. "Nel, is all that true?" She asked, her voice small, and Nel felt the first stab of guilt at keeping the information to herself.

"Of course it is," Kyoya snapped, causing Haruhi to flinch, and that was the last straw for Nel. She glared at him as she stood, thankfully without any real difficulty though she suddenly found it much harder to collect her thoughts. "Don't misdirect your already pointless anger at _her_, Ootori." He could tear into her all day but she would _not_ allow him to take any of this out on Haruhi. "As it is, it's already none of your business an-"

Nel trailed off, distracted by a gleam of something behind Kyoya's head.

One of the many small tables scattered around the room was on it's side (so _that's _what her hip ran into, Nel thought) and laying next to it on the polished marble floor was a sleek, expensive looking laptop. Nel recognized it as Kyoya's, and wanted to groan out loud when she saw the huge web of cracks across the screen. As if that wasn't bad enough, it was completely soaked in tea, the shattered tea cup in pieces near by. Even if Nel didn't have the large knowledge of computers she possessed, she'd still know that Kyoya's laptop, the one he used for _everything, _was completely toast.

Kyoya watched her face, knowing what she had seen behind him, and was shocked to find her skin grew even paler. Her eyebrows drew together and she looked positively miserable. "Oh shit," she said weakly, still staring at the mess. "I did that, didn't I?"

Kyoya merely nodded in reply. Nel groaned, and pushed her first two fingers into her temples, closing her eyes. "Great." After a short, silent moment, she sighed and finally opened her eyes to look at Kyoya. "How much do I owe you?"

Kyoya didn't waste words. "Eight-thousand, three-hundred, and seventy-six American dollars."

Nel stared at him like he had grown an extra head. "Goddamn boy, did you get every damn upgrade Apple had available or did you just talk them into giving you a model that shouldn't have been released for another five years?"

"Both," Kyoya said simply, completely serious.

Nel pinched the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes again. "Of course. I don't even know why I said that like it was a joke."

Haruhi finally spoke up. "Kyoya-senpai, you're not seriously gonna put Nel into debt _too_, are you?"

Nel held out a hand before Kyoya could give Haruhi a lecture about how she could possibly think any different. "Of course, Haru, don't be ridiculous. Despite the circumstances in which I broke it, I still broke it." She sighed, and fixed Kyoya with a gaze that was both tired and apprehensive. "I've gotta pay him back somehow."

"Why do you sound so worried about it?" The twins said sharply. "Can't you just get your grandmother to pay for it? You said she had money, didn't you?"

Nel rolled her eyes, sitting back down on the couch. Her knees were killing her. "Well yeah, but unlike you guys, I'm not gonna just toss my family's money around. I got myself into this mess, I'll fix it myself." She looked up at Kyoya, trying to regain her concentration but anyone who looked closely enough could see the slight glaze over her normally bright and clear eyes, the way she swayed ever so slightly in an attempt to keep herself awake and alert. "I can only pay you so much seeing as I can't work right now, and it'll have to be in payments. But if that's not enough..." She shrugged. "I can always be of help as an assistant. Part of my job back home was keeping up with the books, inventory, profit, things like that." She quirked up a brow. "Honestly, you could use the help. From what you told me before you've got a lot on your plate, and that's just the host club. I can't even imagine with all the school work on top of that and whatever you've got going on at home. Besides," she added quickly, before Kyoya could say something about her thinking he couldn't handle it all himself, "you could probably benefit more from taking some more customers." She smiled. "I hear talk. You've got more fans than you'd think."

Tamaki hmm'ed, rubbing his chin. "You know Kyoya, she's got a point. You do quite a bit around here, and it'd probably be good to take in a few more customers. I think it'd be a good thing to take Nel up on it."

Nel merely put her elbow on the side of the couch and propped her cheek against her fist, watching Kyoya for an answer.

He thought about it, turning the idea over in his mind. Even he had to admit (in the privacy of his own mind of course) that it sounded nice, having the load lightened some. But he wasn't even sure Nel could actually handle it. He shot off the names of a few of the programs he used to keep everything in order, asking Nel if she was familiar with them. She nodded in a business-like manner. "Of course. Though that first one I've only used an older version of it, but that's just an issue of getting used to a different interface, isn't it?"

Kyoya nodded, staring the girl down. She certainly seemed competent enough, and Kyoya had to remind himself she was, after all, nearly three years older than him, or so she said. "...I'll need to make sure, of course, that you can actually handle it."

She beamed, and Kyoya was caught off guard by the friendliness. "Certainly. How about we do a trail run for a week, free of charge? If things go smoothly, we can discuss wages after that. Either way, I'll give you what I can every two weeks." She watched him with her calm, steady eyes, obviously waiting for an answer.

"You've got a deal, Miss Mason."

She smiled that crooked smile, and Kyoya couldn't help thinking she had known all along exactly how this would go. "Perfect."

* * *

_I think I'm here. The one with the huge ass metal gate? Why am I even asking that? Of course you have a huge ass metal gate._

Kyoya could practically hear the mildly disgusted tone as he read the text from Nel, and couldn't help feeling amused. She was very much like her cousin indeed.

It had been a few days since they agreed to Nel becoming something of an assistant to Kyoya, but since then she hadn't been able to make it to the club due to needing recovery from her blood donation and also the new list of things she had to do to take care of her grandmother after her latest surgery. Finally they agreed upon Nel coming to Kyoya's house for an evening so he could give her a crash course and see how she preformed.

Kyoya made his way to the front door as he punched out a reply on his phone. He knew the help would have answered the door, but he was still doing his best to stay in her good graces. There was something about her behavior, a unique sort of maturity that he could only describe of some sort of mutual respect between them. So, he felt it only right.

_That's the one. Just park anywhere out front and I'll meet you at the door._

He slipped his phone into the pocket of his tight-fitting black pants and continued along his way across the expansive mansion. He reached the front door and pulled it open just in time to hear a car door slam shut. His eyes followed the sound and he watched as the short girl walked around the sleek silver car and towards the house, raising a jingling bunch of keys over her shoulder. The car beeped and the tail lights flashed as Nel finally looked up, shoving the keys into a pocket of the messenger back tossed over her shoulder. When she saw Kyoya she flashed him a small but bright smile, like she was simply over to visit a friend.

"Evenin', sir," she said in English as she closed the last few feet between them, and Kyoya couldn't help but notice the slight southern drawl to her words. Her accent when she spoke Japanese was completely perfect, and it caught him slightly off guard to hear her speak any differently.

He nodded his greetings and held the door open for her as she stepped inside, closing it behind them and leading her down the through the hallways without a word. Nel glanced around curiously at the decor of the completely silent house as she followed along, having to rush slightly to keep up with Kyoya's much longer steps.

"I like it," she said quietly, still turning her head this way and that as they moved along. Kyoya looked down at the girl, raising a brow. "It's a bit... _stiff_, but overall it's a very nice looking home." She smiled up at the dark haired boy, but the look at the back of her eyes told Kyoya that Nel knew very well the _stiffness_, as she called it, stemmed from the fact that it wasn't really a _home_. Simply a house.

"Thank you," he replied finally before opening a door. "Here we are." He stepped to the side to let her pass through first, and smirked when she let out a low whistle. "This is your _room_? Geez dude, it's like a small house in here. Ohhh, big windows. I like."

"Make yourself at home," he said simply, crossing over to his dresser and grabbing the small black flash drive sitting on top of it. When he turned around he found Nel already unloading her own laptop, apparently having trouble with the tangled cords with a small frown on her face. "Stupid technology..." she muttered, glaring down at the knot.

Kyoya merely quirked a brow at her, holding out the flash drive. "That's got all the software you'll need to install as well as the data you'll need to complete this month's spread sheets and general overviews. It was a pretty slow, normal month so it shouldn't be too difficult."

Nel, having finally untangled the cords, looked up at him then down to his hand before taking the little device. "Sounds good, I'll get right on it."

Kyoya nodded before explaining, "I'm going to go grab a late dinner before I start on my home work. Would you like anything?" he asked politely as Nel settled herself onto the white couch, setting her laptop up on the coffee table and plugging the drive into a USB port. "Water would be great. And anything salty and preferably completely unhealthy if you've got it. I've been having weird cravings."

Kyoya merely nodded before leaving her to herself, making his way to the kitchen. The house was silent as he walked along the empty hallways. His entire family was away for business trips, leaving him home alone, along with the staff of course. If it was even possible, it made the place seem even bigger and more cold than it usually was. But he couldn't honestly say he missed them.

In an unusual act of kindness, Kyoya brushed off their head chef and heated up the leftover dinner himself, rummaging through the cabinets while the plate revolved in the microwave. To him, salty and unhealthy translated to potato chips, which they currently had none of. But they did had an unopened bag of small pretzels, so Kyoya figured that would just have to suffice for the girl's request. He grabbed that and two bottled waters from the fridge just in time for the microwave to beep. He grabbed a pair of chopsticks from a drawer before balancing the hot bowl in his hand and holding it close to his body, the rest of his arm supporting the bottles of water while his other hand clutched the bag of pretzels. He made his way carefully back to his room, the smell of teriyaki noodles making him realize exactly how hungry he was.

Nudging the door open with his foot, he peered his head in curiously, trying to get a glimpse of Nel before she could do the same to him first. She looked completely comfortable on the couch, leaning back agains the arm rest with a couple pillows behind her back, another one in her lap underneath her laptop. Her bare feet were crossed at the ankles, and Kyoya noted the bright shade of turquoise blue that her toe nails were painted. Hearng the door creak she looked up, and answered the look he was giving her with, "You said to make myself at home after all."

Kyoya couldn't stop the small chuckle before it came. "That I did." He handed her her requested items, and she let out a happy gasp while she thanked him. "Ohhh you are so my new favorite." She already had a small pretzel inbetween her lips, typing away on her computer.

"And who was your favorite before?" Kyoya asked politely, raising a black brow.

"Mori," she said, leaning back as she watched the progress bars creep forward as the software installed. "He did bring me apple juice after all. That's practically grounds for marriage in my book."

Kyoya wasn't sure to accuse her of having low standards or to reccomend a therapist for her addiction problem. Either way, he turned and headed towards the stairs that led up to the actual bed part of his bedroom, leaving Nel to her work. "I'll be back down in about fourty-five minutes to check on you," he said as he went. Nel merely made a noise to let him know she heard him, nose already back in her screen and one cheek full to the brim with salty snacks. Kyoya shook his head, for once second guessing his decision.

* * *

Fourty-seven minutes later Kyoya went back down, finding Nel much the same as he'd left her. He quietly went around behind her to see the screen, and was honestly a little shocked to find her well beyond the rate of completetion he had mentally set for her. Infact, she was nearly done.

"Kyoya, how is this a _normal_, _slow_ month?" she asked suddenly, her tone incredulous. "Do you boys have any idea how much money you could save by baking all those snacks and cakes instead of buying them? Seriously, the quality would be the same, but the bottom line qould change dramatically." She shifted around a few windows, bringing one up and tilting the laptop so Kyoya could see better. "Here, look at what you spend versus the cost of materials it would take to make the same exact thing."

Kyoya examined the numbers carefully, trying to find some sort of error. But there were none, and he had to admit he definitely liked the results. "Well that's all good and well, but you didn't factor in the cost of _labor_."

Nel went back to calculating the normal end of month forms, shrugging a shoulder. "I'll do it. Just another way to pay off my debt, and not does it help the both of us, but it greatly benefits _you_."

Kyoya sat on the other end of the couch, staring at Nel. "You want to pay your debt off by _baking_?"

Nel raised her eyes to glance at him over her glasses. "Why not? I like baking. I'm a crap cook but I can bake like a crazy mofo." She smiled gently, pausing her rapid typing. "I'll even order all the supplies myself and do it at home so the school isn't inconvienienced at all."

Kyoya watched her for a moment before nodding. "Alright, you've got a deal."

With one last punch of a key Nel smiled brightly. "Great! All done, by the way. I sent it via email, so you can take a look before we call this a done deal."

Kyoya already felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out, taking longer than needed to open the email and look at Nel's handywork. She had followed the provided example perfectly, even improved it some and made it easier to read. He was... impressed, to say the least.

"Miss Mason, I may just have to hire you on permanantly, regardless of when you head back home to the states." He said as an answer. Nel gave him a self satisfied smirk, and Kyoya appreicated the fact that she didn't seem to have ever doubted her abilities.

"Well, first things first, alright?" she said with a small laugh and Kyoya smiled, finally feeling optimistic about this. Maybe he'd actually get some decent sleep for once. Nel stood from the couch, fluffing the pillows and putting them back in their proper spots before beginning to back their things.

"I was thinking," she began, "that instead of monthly I could try it weekly, that way I can give it even more attention and be sure there's no errors whatsoever. Just as a satefy net, really, but mostly because I'm just that bored." She stood, heaving her bag over her shoulders and smiling down at Kyoya. He just nodded silently, not quite sure what to say to the girl. He was floored, though he'd never admit it to anyone out loud. Were it not for the fact he wouldn't really gain anything other than a fantastic secratary and accountant, he may contemplate bringing her up to his father as a marriage proposal.

But, that was quite a silly thought for him, and he brushed it away. "Well Nel, looks like things are going to be just fine with this new agreement." He stood as well, ready to lead her back to her car.

She raised a hand, slipping her shoes back on. "I'll let myself out, you still need to finish your homework."

Kyoya stepped towards her. "No really, I insist."

She poked him in the chest, grinning. "And _I_ insist that I am perfectly capable of finding the front door, sir." She winked, already stepping back towards his bedroom door. "Night, Kyoya. See ya Tuesday."

She was already gone by the time the words left his mouth. "Goodnight, Nel."

* * *

Aww, budding friendship! Hoped you guys liked it. ^_^ By the way, HI ASHLEY :D


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